Having lost the first two games in the series, the Panthers returned home knowing they needed to get a win, and right away.
They were really made to work for it, especially since they went behind just 23 seconds in. The guests practically jumped on the attack right away, with Auston Matthew's shot coming off the post. A fortunate bounce saw the puck fall to Matthew Knies, who put it in from close range to give the Leafs the early lead.
Things got worse for the home side five and a half minutes later. After winning back the puck, Toronto went the other way. Max Pacioretty found John Tavares, who despite miscontrolling the pass initially, went behind the net and did a wrap-around to convert past Sergei Bobrovsky.
Florida did not allow things to get worse than that. In fact, they found their opening goal 90 seconds after going two down. Evan Rodrigues did well along the boards to pick out Sam Reinhart, who played in Aleksandar Barkov. The hosts' captain swivelled and put a shot on goal that deflected off of Morgan Reilly and in.
A power play early on in the second period allowed the Maple Leafs to restore their two-goal cushion. Marner was given enough space to fire a shot through traffic. Although it was initially going wide, Tavares was there to tip the puck home and make it 3-1.
Not to be denied, the Panthers levelled the score a little less than three minutes later. First, Reinhart tipped a loose puck over the line, with a replay confirming the goal. Then, about 60 seconds later, Sam Bennett collected the puck and skated in on goal. Finding an open Carter Verhaeghe, the 29-year-old put it home. All of a sudden, the game was on level terms.
With less than five minutes to go in the second, the home team took the lead for the first time. Jonah Gadjovich broke away with possession, as he skated beyond the blue line before blasting his shot past Joseph Woll. That left the home fans going wild as their side finally led.
The game stayed that way until the middle of the final period, when Toronto tied things up. A mistimed pass from Matthews ended up working out, as Reilly was able to shoot first time. A deflection in front of goal took it past Bobrovsky, making the score 4-4.
It would take nearly 15 and a half minutes of overtime for the Panthers to score the winning goal. Marchand received the puck on the left wing and put an effort on goal. A change in the shot's direction fooled Bobrovsky and went in.
Despite the loss, the Leafs still hold an advantage in the series, but the lead has been cut down to 2-1. Game four is on Sunday, with the Panthers hoping to tie things up before returning to Toronto for Wednesday's game five.
In the night's other action, the Winnipeg Jets cruised to a 4-0 win against the Dallas Stars.